Child of Empire, he freely starved in Valetta
Free to resent the many fat priests
Free to go
Desperate, hoping
Stowaway to Istanbul
Free to be beaten by the Ottomans
Sent back to hunger
Not stopped yet
Stowaway to Britain
Set loose in Imperial London
Free to prosper
Free to work
Free-diver repairing Brighton’s Pier
Freely volunteered in 1914’s Expeditionary Force
Free to marry, to be British
Free to stay
Forty descendants, freely British
Freely given gifts of a Maltese boy
Seven fought in British wars
Immigration can be a free gift
Copyright © 2017 Kim Whysall-Hammond
Written for Today’s National Poetry Day, which this year has the theme of Freedom.
As usual, when given a prompt or theme, my mind heads off slightly askew. This poem tells some of the story of my Maltese Grandfather. He came to Britain as a stowaway with nothing, found welcome and work. We need to remember how many of us are descended from people like him — and to remember to allow others similar freedoms.